Dad pleads not guilty to smothering death of newborn son (Mount Holly, New Jersey)

Dad ERIK D. GRIFFIN was "caretaking" when he couldn't stand the crying of his newborn son anymore. So naturally, he smothered the baby till he stopped, then fled the house. In the process, he abandoned a 16-month-old girl. Though this baby was only 4-weeks in age, there is NO MENTION of the baby's mother. Why was she not caring for the baby? Did she have to work?

Notice that the baby was found by dad's grandmother, which makes me wonder if this was a visitation situation.

INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/burlington-city-father-pleads-not-guilty-in-death-of-newborn/article_062b4e8a-a177-11e0-a98c-001a4bcf6878.html

Burlington City father pleads not guilty in death of newborn
Posted: Monday, June 27, 2011 11:43 am | Updated: 7:09 am, Tue Jun 28, 2011.

By Danielle Camilli

MOUNT HOLLY — A Burlington City man accused of smothering his newborn son to death last year entered a not-guilty plea in Superior Court on Monday.

Erik D. Griffin, 25, formerly of the 400 block of St. Mary Street, was arraigned before Judge Michael Haas on charges of first-degree murder and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child in the Nov. 11 death of 4-week-old Nyir Griffin at a home in Burlington City.

If convicted, Griffin faces up to life in prison. Authorities allege that Griffin placed the infant on a bed and suffocated him with a pillow. He then fled the home, leaving the 9-pound boy to be discovered later by his maternal grandmother.

She found the baby unresponsive and tried to revive him, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.

Griffin gave a statement to police indicating he smothered his son because the baby was crying and he could not calm him down. Griffin is being held in Burlington County Jail on $750,000 bail and is due back in court later this summer.

During the incident, a second child, a 16-month-old girl, was also in Griffin’s care and was left in the house when he fled.

The family had no case history with the New Jersey Department of Children and Families at the time of the incident.